Veteran Bobby Abreu could be looking at a diminished role with the Angels in 2012.AP PHOTO

TEMPE, Ariz. – Both GM Jerry Dipoto and Angels manager Mike Scioscia reached out to Bobby Abreu in the weeks leading up to spring training in hopes of avoiding a rancorous situation when the veteran reports to camp.

Those conversations apparently did not meet their intended goal. Instead, Abreu is upset about what he perceives as the Angels' intention to turn him into "a bench player" this year, particularly if Kendrys Morales returns.

"I really don't have a reaction. I'll reserve my comments," Dipoto said when asked about Abreu's comments. "As I've said, we've spoken with Bobby. Mike has spoken with Bobby. He understands the situation such as it is and I'll leave it at that.

"We've had our conversations. It's a situation where it's between Bobby and the Angels and Bobby's representatives and we're going to leave it that way."

Dipoto has also declined to comment on reports that a trade was in place that would have sent Abreu to the Yankees last week with right-hander A.J. Burnett heading to Anaheim. Burnett reportedly exercised his no-trade clause and instead accepted a trade to the Pirates, closer to his family's home in Maryland.

"Every player wants to play," Dipoto said, dismissing the need to defuse the Abreu situation with position players reporting on Sunday. "We'll find the right 25."

Abreu's role on that 25-man roster is a fluid situation that could change based in large part on the healthy return of Morales and to a lesser extent on how well Mark Trumbo handles a transition to third base. If both of those spring projects play out the way the Angels hope, Abreu (and/or Trumbo) might become part of a surplus from which Dipoto could trade.

"We don't know that we have a surplus," Dipoto said. "Right now, we're watching the progress of Kendrys, of Mark Trumbo. We're assessing what we have on our roster right now. That's spring training in general. We've got 60 players in camp. We've got a 25-man roster to pare down to. I think we're a fairly mature team. We have a general understanding of who those 25 players are going to be. There are still open spots for competition. You want competition. We haven't made decisions on how those positional competitions are going to come out until they actually play out.

"I view that (trade speculation) as a hypothetical question. As we try to get through, I need to know reality."

Scioscia indicated that he tried to explain the reality of the situation to Abreu when they spoke, describing those conversations as "candid."

"Bobby obviously wants to play every day. He has expressed that to me," Scioscia said. "I certainly don't see him as a bench player but I definitely see him getting value and getting playing time.

"How much playing time he gets? We don't have a crystal ball. We certainly have more depth now than we've had in a long time. But I don't think Bobby would be valuable playing once or twice a week. He would have to play more than that. But there's certainly ways to get a lot of guys in the lineup to where they're contributing."

Position players report Sunday with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Monday. Scioscia said he does not anticipate Abreu's disenchantment carrying over onto the field or becoming a distraction in the clubhouse.

"You don't get too many guys any more professional than Bobby so I don't anticipate that being an issue," Scioscia said. "I think if there are some issues, I'm sure that his agent will work through that with Jerry. Bobby's here. He's going to help us win games and that's what we're looking forward to."

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